Donald Trump’s attempts to define Vice President Kamala Harris’ race, including the jaw-dropping statement that she “became a Black person” for political reasons, have rightfully grabbed headlines. But those disgusting and overtly racist statements were only a small fraction of what Trump said during his Wednesday appearance before the National Association of Black Journalists.
The rest of what he said on that stage was arguably as bad or worse. He put himself forward as the second coming of President Abraham Lincoln, tried to convince Black people to hate immigrants, and casually defended a police officer who killed a Black woman.
Trump’s appearance doesn’t show where Trump is going in this campaign. It shows where he already is.
Watching the whole thing is a challenge few may be able to stomach. But from the opening minutes—when Trump called the first question from ABC News’ Rachel Scott “horrible” and declared that he has “done so much for the Black population of this country”—to the point where his staff hustles him off the stage, there is not one defensible moment.
The question that kicks off Trump’s “Is she Indian or is she Black?” moment starts at the 5:00 timestamp on the video.
At 7:15, Trump delivers “his message” to Black people. Which focuses on convincing Black voters that they should be afraid of immigrants. Which includes this moment.
Trump: My message is to stop people from invading our country that are taking, frankly—a lot of problems with it, but one of the big problems, and a lot of the journalists in this room I know and I have great respect for. A lot of the journalists in this room are Black. I will tell you that coming, coming from the border are millions and millions of people that happen to be taking Black jobs. You had the best—Scott: What exactly is a Black job, sir?
Trump: A Black job is anybody that has a job. That’s what it is. Anybody that has a job. And they’re taking, they’re taking the employment away from Black people.
Trump carried on, repeating the false claim that Harris is “the border czar” for the Biden administration and that millions of Black people have lost their jobs to undocumented migrants “invading” America. Trump then repeated claims that other countries are emptying prisons and mental institutions into the United States.
At the 13:15 mark in the video, Semafor's Kadia Goba asked Trump about a police officer killing Sonya Massey, an unarmed Black woman from Illinois who was shot in her home after calling 911 for help. The shooting followed a previous 911 call in which Massey’s mother pleaded with police not to hurt her. Bodycam footage showed that Massey was following the instructions of the police at the time of the shooting. Her murder triggered a day of mourning and ongoing protests across the nation. The deputy sheriff involved in the incident has been fired and is now facing a murder charge.
Goba: You said police would get immunity from prosecution if you win. Why should someone like that officer have immunity, in your opinion?
Trump: Immunity? I don’t know the exact case, but I saw something and it didn’t look good to me, it didn’t look good to me. Are you talking with the water, right?
At this point, Trump gestured as if he were hurling a bucket of water. Massey was following police instructions to remove a pot of boiling water from her stove when she was shot. The deputy who killed Massey claims he was afraid she would throw the water at him.
At the 17:30 point, Scott asks Trump about Vance’s “childless cat ladies” remarks and his attacks on people who don’t have children. Trump defends Vance as just being “family-oriented.”
At the 25:30 mark, Trump declares that it’s really Democrats who have a “radical” position on abortion.
Trump: The Democrat Party is the one that has the problem. I think that they’re radical on abortion because they’re allowing abortion in the ninth month. They’re allowing the death of a baby after a baby is born.
Scott attempts to cut Trump off to point out the facts, but he keeps on speaking saying that “based on the governor of Virginia, they’re allowing the death of the baby after it’s born.” This is a well-known, go-to lie of his.
Near the end of his appearance, at the 32:10 mark on the video, Scott asked Trump about his promises to pardon the insurrectionists who swarmed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. She ran through a list of injuries to officers and asked whether Trump, if reelected, would pardon those people.
Trump responded by making claims that other protesters have done worse.
Scott: Sir, my question is on those rioters who assaulted officers. Would you pardon those people?Trump: Oh, absolutely I would. If they’re innocent—if they’re innocent, I would pardon them.
Scott: They’ve been convicted.
Trump: And by the way, the Supreme Court just— Well, they were convicted by a very, a very tough system. They were— How come the people who tried to burn down Minneapolis, how come the people who took over a large percentage of Seattle, how come nothing happened to them? How come—
Scott: But sir, we’re talking about people who were seen beating officers with flagpoles and dragging them down the stairs.
Trump: We’re talking about federal buildings.
Scott: They’re on video. Have you seen that video, sir? You would pardon those rioters?
Trump: Really, oh, really? Well, they shot a young lady in the face who was protesting. They shot her in the face. You know, nobody died that day. You do know that. But people died in Seattle. Nobody died. But people died in Minneapolis. You know people died in Minneapolis. And nothing happens and nobody ever talks. And nothing happens to those people.
[…]
Trump: Nothing is perfect in life, but you have people … five days ago in Washington, D.C. They were having fistfights and fighting with the police. They were spraying and destroy— They were desecrating our monuments in Washington, D.C., five days ago, and nothing happened to them. And you have to, you can’t have two systems of justice.
More than 10,000 people were arrested nationwide during summer 2020 protests against racism and police violence in the wake of George Floyd’s death. One person did die in Seattle when a car drove into the protesters, and the driver was sentenced to 78 months in prison. One person died in an arson in Minneapolis, and the perpetrator was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison. At least 23 people in Washington were arrested during last week’s protests about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress.
The idea that violence and criminal behavior was ignored during those protests and that only Jan. 6 insurrectionists are being held responsible is a regular theme at Trump’s rallies. The claim that no one died in connection to the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol is also categorically false.
As he was about to leave the stage, Trump returned to the theme of a border “invasion.”
Trump: And remember, they’re taking your jobs. These people coming in are taking your jobs.
Along the way, Trump made false claims about his support for historically Black colleges and universities and about the level of inflation, and promised to lower interest rates—which is outside the control of any president. He left before answering questions about Project 2025.
His statements about Harris were horrific, but it was all horrific.
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